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Tuesday 18 October 2011

Interno di un convento Za murami klasztoru Behind Convent Walls 1978 dir. Walerian Borowczyk


A zealous, handsome priest, who is the confessor for a convent full of women, encourages the equally zealous abbess of one such institution to enforce the same strict rules on these unfortunate women that are applied to others. In doing so, they uncover a snake pit of sexual couplings, both lesbian and heterosexual, as well as many tools for masturbation. At the same time, a particularly disturbed inmate manages to poison herself and many of the other novitiates in yet another scandal which is covered up by church authorities.









Borowsky's artistic, distinctively edgy pseudo-art erotic movie will appeal to all familiar with his work. The over-exposed light pours in through the windows and light up the stark, angular corridors, perfectly off-setting the naked female bodies on display. The plot is pretty mundane stuff - a mother superior has trouble keeping her naughty nuns from sins of the flesh (that's pretty much it). Although the weird subplots about stigmata and a nun who seems to believe Jesus slept with her in her sleep will please art-house fans like me. The film is set against a loud organ score (reminiscent of the art-house classic Last Year at Marienbad) and of course it all ends pretty tragically. This is a great little art-house film, although the acting is at times a little hokey (not helped by terrible dubbing) and it isn't exactly the biggest budget in the world. Ironically, given the film's exploitionist title, there isn't much here for softcore porn fans (a little female masterbation and 2 or 3 short (heterosexual) sex scenes) but fans of this kind of european arthouse should be more than happy.



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